Weeks before South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) party would meet to designate candidates for the 2024 Presidential campaign; a lawfare bomb was tossed, leaving the President floundering and contemplating resignation. 

President Cyril Ramaphosa, a trade unionist and successful businessman, succeeded the deeply controversial Jacob Zuma, who was removed by his party following many accusations of corruption. 

Ramaphosa, the architect of the South African Constitution, is conciliatory and tends to keep potential enemies inside government. His attempts to build a resilient economy is hampered by ideological considerations and nepotism. Under his leadership, the ANC has adopted a rule that anyone formally charged with criminal conduct should 'step aside' from public or party office.

A faction of party luminaries, many of whom face allegations and formal charges of malfeasance gathered around an aggrieved Zuma, forming the Radical Economic Transformation group, who propose doing away with colonial legal systems and western beliefs in property ownership and economics. This group was behind the civil unrest in June 2021 when Zuma was arrested for contempt of the Constitutional Court. 

Enter the spymaster, Arthur Frazer. During his tenure at the helm of the South African Secret Service, he allegedly built a super-spy network, ran a clandestine intelligence ring in support of then-President Zuma and oversaw massive, unauthorized expenditure of secret funds. President Ramaphosa demoted him to Head of Correctional Services just in time for him to give an irregular medical parole to ex-President Zuma on the arrest of the latter.

In South Africa, the President is chosen by Parliament, and therefore the most numerous party, the ANC, gets to choose and can recall the President, as Zuma was recalled. And now Arthur Frazer filed a charge against President Ramaphosa, alleging that he had clandestinely received millions of dollars, had them stolen, did not report the matter properly, and had hampered the police in their investigation. 

In the normally quiet news season, this exploded over the media and played an important role in the ANC electoral process. Challengers for the Presidency include Zweli Mkhize, who, as Minister of Health, garnered confidence by his handling of the COVID pandemic, but who stands accused of contracting friends to lucrative government deals. Another challenger is Lindiwe Sisulu, a cabinet Minister since 1995, and daughter of party luminaries, who criticized government of allowing a colonial legal system to disenfranchise the poor. 

A Parliament-appointed Commission on the matter found that President Ramaphosa MAY have breached his constitutional duties. The President contemplated resignation, but when it was pointed out that the Commission had misconstrued its mandate, decided to challenge its report. 

Observers compare Zuma, who has been fighting tooth and nail to remain in power to Ramaphosa, who was prepared to face the music and resign. And while the party's internal machinations will grind along, there are calls for Ramaphosa to call snap elections and seek the public's approval.

The country holds its breath.